Continental Army Major Generals: The Best Biographies

George Washington biographies abound and the number continues to grow with at least fifteen new memoirs published in 2017. In fact, historian and Washington biographer Ron Chernow estimates that over nine hundred George Washington biographies have been written since the first by Mason Locke (Parson) Weems in 1800, a year after the General’s death.[1] By contrast, there is a relative dearth of biographies on the other twenty-nine major generals in the Continental Army, totaling less than ten percent of the number written on Washington.

While relatively few in number, many of the Continental Army major general biographies are well written and well researched, providing valuable insights into the politics among the generals and politicians. Surprisingly, Israel Putnam is the subject of the most biographies with fifteen. Likely Putnam’s legendary exploits during the French and Indian War and their appeal to younger readers increased biographical interest. The list of major generals with four or more biographies is topped, after Putnam, by more familiar names: Friedrich “Baron” von Steuben followed by Benedict Arnold, Nathanael Greene, Johann de Kalb, Marquis de Lafayette and Henry Knox. One would think that more bios would have been written on Horatio Gates. His participation in the northern and southern theaters, however, is extensively covered in books about those regions. No full-length biographies have been written on two French volunteer major generals, Thomas Conway and Philippe du Coudray. All of the other major generals have at least one biography written on them.

Interestingly, it’s more popular to write biographies on brigadier generals and other Revolutionary War participants. For example, there are more biographies written on Brig. Gen. Anthony Wayne than any major general, and the number of Ethan Allen biographies tops all but Israel Putnam.

For those interested in a brief overview of the Revolutionary generals, there are several good volumes with short chapters on each officer. My favorite is American Generals of the Revolutionary War by Robert P. Broadwater.[2]

Although low, the number and quality of the major general biographies have been increasing. In the last twenty-five years, twelve of the twenty-seven best biographies have been published. Only five biographies on this list of the best are over one hundred years old.

Following in order of seniority are the best full-length biographies of each Continental Army major general.[3] Please take a look and provide your own candidates.

Artemus Ward

Charles Martyn, The Life of Artemas Ward, the First Commander-in-Chief of the American Revolution (Kennikat American Bicentennial Series. Port Washington, NY: Kennikat Press, 1970).

Charles Lee

Phillip Papas, Renegade Revolutionary: The Life of General Charles Lee (New York: New York University Press, 2014).

Johann de Kalb

Robert Howe

Charles E, Bennett and Donald R Lennon, Quest for Glory: Major General Robert Howe and the American Revolution (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1991).

Alexander McDougall

William L. MacDougall, American Revolutionary: A Biography of General Alexander McDougall (Contributions in American History, no. 57. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1977).

Thomas Conway

Amos Blanchard, The American Biography: Containing Biographical Sketches of the Officers of the Revolution, and of the Principal Statesmen of That Period, to Which Are Added the Life and Character of Benedict Arnold, and the Narrative of Major Andre (Wheeling, WV: Kenyon, 1833).[6]

Friedrich “Baron” von Steuben

Paul Douglas Lockhart, The Drillmaster of Valley Forge: The Baron de Steuben and the Making of the American Army (New York, NY: Smithsonian Books/Collins, 2008).

William Smallwood

Samuel H. Parsons

Charles S. Hall, Life and Letters of Samuel Holden Parsons Major General in the Continental Army and Chief Judge of the Southwestern Territory 1787-1789 (Binghamton, NY: Otseningo Publishing Co., 1905).

Amos Blanchard, The American Biography: Containing Biographical Sketches of the Officers of the Revolution, and of the Principal Statesmen of That Period, to Which Are Added the Life and Character of Benedict Arnold, and the Narrative of Major Andre (Wheeling, WV: Kenyon, 1833).

6 Comments

Hi Gene
Good job highlighting how most of these MG’s have been ignored in terms of good biographies. I think you have under stated the number of biographies about Benedict Arnold. He has more than Israel Putnam. I have 30 bios of Arnold in my collection. I agree with you that the best one by far is by Jim Martin. I am amazed at the number of authors who have written about Arnold over the years.

Very nice list, Gene. I can only imagine how difficult it was to come up with biographies on the likes of say Spencer. (Nothing against Spencer) I agree that Kirby’s Arnold biography is by far the best on him. I also like Golway’s on Greene, Shelton’s on Montgomery, and Lockhart’s on von Steuben.

My initial thoughts are that Arnold would have the most biographies after Washington. Then the Marquis de Lafayette after him. Granted there are many books on events Arnold was a key figure in such as the Canadian expedition, Saratoga, Valcour, etc., that those might be skewing my numbers a bit.

Good point on Israel Putnam. He certainly was no dynamic leader during the Revolutionary War, but was already legendary from his French and Indian War exploits. With the number of locations and monuments in Connecticut named after him, (I think he even has a statue in Hartford as does the Marquis de Lafayette) I’m not too surprised by the number of biographies out there on him.

I’d also like to see more out there on Gates. Given his background, it would be interesting to see how he developed that ruthless ambition, especially having been an asset to Washington early on.

While Moore’s book is considerbly older and lesser known that many recent John Stark biographies, I agree that it is the best Stark bio. It is my “go to” source on Stark.

Great suggestion for a list of best bios for all Revolutionary War generals. However on this list, I included only the 29 commissioned Major Generals and not the Brigadier Generals who were breveted to Major General at the end of the war. I should have added a clarifying note on this distinction and my source; Francis Heitman, Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army.

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Journal of the American Revolution is the leading source of knowledge about the American Revolution and Founding Era. Appealing to scholars and enthusiasts alike, we feature meticulous, groundbreaking research and well-written narratives from scores of expert writers. Our work has been featured by the New York Times, TIME Magazine, History Channel, Discovery Channel, Smithsonian, Mental Floss, Mount Vernon, and more. Journal of the American Revolution also produces annual hardcover volumes and its own book series.